Memorial Day recipes: Hot dogs by the city

Wednesday

May 25, 2011 at 12:01 AMMay 25, 2011 at 6:54 PM

Kansas City frankfurters come with sauerkraut and melted Swiss cheese on a sesame-seed bun. In New York, you’ll find them topped with cooked onions and brown mustard. In Atlanta expect to find coleslaw on your dog.

Kathryn Rem

Mustard and pickle relish are OK on hot dogs, but to make them special for Memorial Day, dress them geographically — the way street vendors and ballpark hawkers do throughout the regions of America.

Kansas City frankfurters come with sauerkraut and melted Swiss cheese on a sesame-seed bun. In New York, you’ll find them topped with cooked onions and brown mustard. In Atlanta expect to find coleslaw on your dog.

A Pittsburgh hot dog starts with a hoagie-style bun covered with yellow mustard and a layer of hot, meatless chili. A crusty roll also reigns in Hawaii, where the frank is covered with crushed pineapple and teriyaki sauce.

New Orleans’ dog lovers top them with tangy barbecue sauce, grilled onions and fresh tomatoes. And in Texas, you’re likely to find chili, cheese and jalapenos inside the bun.

“You can turn a plain hot dog into almost anything,” said Tom Super, spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based National Hot Dog and Sausage Council. “Remember that a hot dog is already cooked, so you can boil, steam, grill, pan-fry or microwave it in a wet paper towel. There’s really no wrong way to cook it.”

Americans ate more than 7 billion hot dogs in 2010. More than 150 million of those were consumed around July 4, the No. 1 holiday for hot dog sales.

“I’d put Memorial Day right behind that,” Super said.

Some tidbits, according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council:

-- The biggest consumers of refrigerated package meats are large households with older children in the Midwest and South.

-- New hot dog products tend to be name brands reformulated with reduced fat or increased protein.

-- In 2010, New Yorkers spent more on supermarket hot dogs ($105 million) than any other market. Los Angeles came in second with $91 million.

-- Americans are expected to eat 30 million hot dogs in ballparks this year.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Reduce heat to low, place hot dog in water, and cook 5 minutes or until done. Remove hot dog and set aside. Carefully place a steamer basket into the pot and steam the hot dog bun 2 minutes or until warm.

Place hot dog in the steamed bun. Pile on the toppings in this order: yellow mustard, sweet green pickle relish, onion, tomato wedges, pickle spear, sport peppers and celery salt. The tomatoes should be nestled between the hot dog and the top of the bun. Place the pickle between the hot dog and the bottom of the bun.